Sacha To Return As Erasmus Fast-Tracked Vusi Moyo Into The Flyhalf Fire
Despite admitting that nerves were evident during his Test debut, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus believes young flyhalf Vusi Moyo showed plenty of promise in South Africa’s 43-0 victory over Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday.
The selection of the 20-year-old at flyhalf was one of the biggest talking points leading up to the match, with Erasmus opting to hand him his first Test cap against Tier One opposition despite having the experienced Manie Libbok on the bench.
Erasmus explained that the decision formed part of South Africa’s long-term planning at flyhalf, particularly with several senior players unavailable.
“I think he looked nervous to me, and I don’t know if other people would see that, but that’s normal in your first Test,” Erasmus said.
“He’s the youngest flyhalf ever to play for the Springboks. I think he’s about six months younger than Patrick Lambie was when he made his debut. To make your debut against a Tier One nation is tough for a 20-year-old.”
Lambie debuted off the bench against Ireland in November 2010 at 20 years and 303 days. Moyo’s debut at 20 years and 27 days makes him nearly nine months younger, solidifying his absolute grip on the record.
Moyo contributed eight points off the tee (four conversions) before being replaced in the 56th minute, showing high baseline accuracy despite the wet surface and tactical anxiety mentioned by the coach.
The Bok coach revealed that injuries to Handré Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu left the management with limited options, making it the ideal opportunity to assess the youngster at international level.
“We’ve got Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) coming back now, and he’ll travel with the squad to Argentina. Handré pulled his hamstring, but he’s fit now. He just wasn’t fit for this game.
“So we didn’t have Sacha, we didn’t have Handré, but we had Vusi and Manie. We didn’t want to start Manie because bringing a young guy on in the second half against a quality team like Wales could have been tough,” the two-time World Cup-winning coach explained.
Although the Springboks eventually cruised to a comfortable seven-try victory, Erasmus felt the scoreline did not fully reflect how competitive the contest was for much of the match.
“Maybe it didn’t look like it, but we had to grind. It was only 14-0 after almost 30 minutes before we managed to pull away.
“We definitely let a few tries slip, I think,” he admitted.
Rather than shifting another player into the pivotal playmaking role, Erasmus said the coaching staff wanted to give Moyo the opportunity to prove himself in the Springbok environment.
“We had to have another flyhalf. We had two guys out, and we felt he was the next guy in,” he said.
“We didn’t want to move Damian Willemse to flyhalf or one of the other guys. We wanted to get Vusi into the mix and see how he does.”
While acknowledging there were clear signs of understandable nerves, Erasmus believes the experience will prove invaluable as the talented youngster continues his development within the Springbok setup.
